Neither Can Live While the Other Survives
by TheHouseKey
Summary: A lot of things have happened to Harry since he graduated from Hogwarts. A mistake he made turned into a blessing. Life is torn away from key players, and Voldemort is banished. But with the Death Eaters still at large, who can say that the world is still
1. Prologue

**Title: **_Neither Can Live While the Other Survives_

**Chapter:** Prologue

**Rating: **PG-13 for premarital relations, death, and overall destruction

**Genre: **Action/Adventure/Drama

**Main Character: **Harry

**Summary: **A lot of things have happened to Harry since he graduated from Hogwarts. A mistake he made turned into be a blessing. Life is torn away from key players, and Voldemort is banished. But with the Death Eaters still at large, who can say that the world is still safe?

* * *

It was a beautiful night in autumn. Helplessness set in on Harry's heart. He sat in his Head Boy quarters, thinking about life and death. How was he supposed to kill Voldemort? It seemed hopeless. Just then, a memory came back to him. "Nothing is ever hopeless." The voice was soft, feminine, and safe. Sighing slightly, Harry got up to go walk around the halls of Hogwarts.

Though he was wandering aimlessly, his general direction was towards the kitchens. He turned a corner and saw a head of fire down the hall. "Hi, Ginny," he greeted quietly.

"Who's there?" She asked, looking around wildly.

It was then Harry realized that he still had his invisibility cloak on. Blushing madly, he took the cloak off. "I'm sorry, Gin. I forgot I had the cloak on." A lump formed in his throat. She was gorgeous.

Ginny had expected a walk to clear her head, not bring her directly to the one she couldn't stop thinking about. Her face felt hot. "'S alright."

"So…" He frantically searched for something to talk about. "Why are you up so late?" _Sound like one of her brothers, real smooth, Scar Head,_ he thought to himself.

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know. I couldn't sleep."

Harry just nodded. He swallowed and took a deep breath. "Mind if I walk with you?" he asked hesitantly.

_Why not?_ Ginny thought to herself. "Sure."

They strolled about the castle, with Harry discreetly leading back to his dormitory. When they stood before the painting of Uric the Oddball, the opening to the Head Boy's Dormitory, Harry took Ginny's hand. "Come in with me." He had no idea what possessed him to say that, but he could only think of one thing. He wanted Ginny Weasley.

Ginny's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't frightened, but she understood the enormity of what he'd just asked her. She found it hard to speak. Slowly, she nodded, and the two of them entered the dormitory.

Nine months later, they were paying for it. It was the day after Harry's graduation, and because of what he and Ginny had done, he was staying at Hogwarts for the next year until Ginny graduated. He was in the Hospital Wing as Ginny was giving birth to new life.

"Damn it, why didn't we think to use contraceptives?" she cried. Her breathing was labored and sweat was pouring off her.

"I thought I did," Harry replied as he held her hand. _Oops_. He felt Ginny's anger in how hard she squeezed his hand.

Afterwards, Ginny and Harry looked at their baby boy, and came to an agreement for the name. He was dubbed Sirius Arthur Potter. The staff had deemed it their responsibility to keep it a secret. Professor Dumbledore wrote to the Weasleys, saying that he wanted a secretary to lighten the load of Professor McGonagall, and that Ginny had volunteered. He even sent them her pay checks.

By the time the new year started, Harry was an apprentice for Defense against the Dark Arts, under Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Ginny had a nice nest egg for when she got home. The two of them had agreed to get married for Sirius' sake after Ginny graduated.

The day of graduation for Ginny was cloudy and rainy. It was held in the Great Hall because of the rain. Harry was sitting in the back row, and Sirius was being attended to by Madam Pomfrey. Harry expected to feel a surge of pride when Ginny stepped up to accept being Valedictorian, but he didn't. There was no feeling, other than mild apathy, and worry concerning her brothers and how they were going to beat him into next year. A small smile threatened to tug at the corner of his mouth as he thought of Sirius. Even if Harry didn't love Ginny completely, it didn't matter as long as Harry had Sirius. He gave in to the impulse to smile as the ceremony ended and Ginny headed over to him.

"Ready to tell the lot of them?" she asked nervously.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry admitted.

The sea of Weasley-red hair moved through the crowd to get to Ginny.

"Good job, Gin!" Ron yelled out.

"Three cheers for the little one," Fred and George joked.

"Congratulations!" Mrs. Weasley sniffed and dabbed a kerchief at her eyes. "I'm so proud of you."

Harry took a deep breath and looked at all of them. "Everyone, Ginny and I—"

"WHAT'S THAT!?" a loud voice shrieked. Everybody looked to the sky, and a gleaming green skull smiled evilly at them as a snake came out of its mouth. Pandemonium ensued. Death Eaters were everywhere.

This was it. The moment Harry had been training for. He searched out Voldemort, and sent him to the depths of the underworld with Godric Gryffindor's sword, and an incantation as old as magic itself. Voldemort was gone.

As the rest of the living were herded to the Hospital Wing, Harry was met by Professor Dumbledore.

He noticed the old man's eyes were clouded with grief and worry. "What's wrong, Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"Please, call me Albus. You no longer go to school here as a student," he requested.

Harry nodded. "What's wrong, Albus?" he repeated.

"Among the many casualties, there were three Weasleys. Percy, Charlie, and Ginny."

"Oh, no…" Harry moaned.

"Sadly, yes. Your son, Harry, has not stopped screaming since the Dark Mark has appeared in the sky. You should go see to him," Dumbledore advised.

"Yes, sir," Harry agreed. As he got closer to the Hospital Wing, he could hear it; the long, mournful cries. They weren't hysterical, but very sad. Harry broke out into a run. He saw Madame Pomfrey looking all flushed.

"I've tried doing everything. Changing his diaper, feeding him, singing him a lullaby; he just won't stop his crying!" she shouted hysterically. She pointed to the infant.

Harry walked over to him and picked him up. The boy was blue from yelling so much. "Hush, Siri. Daddy's here." He repeated it several times in a calm, soothing manner. After a good ten minutes of constant chanting, Sirius stopped crying.

"Mama."

"She's gone away, Siri. Mama's not coming back," Harry explained, though he knew Siri would never understand it.

"Mama?" He blinked up at Harry with owlish hazel eyes.

Harry shook his head at the boy. "She's not coming back, Siri. She's never coming back." He ran his hand through Sirius' dark brown hair, and he and his son cried.

The next morning, Harry and Siri left Hogwarts. Godric's Hollow belonged to him, now. Friends had rebuilt it after that fateful Halloween, and Harry moved back to it. After a good few weeks, it was transformed from an old, dusty house to a livable home.

Harry had never told anyone about the identity of Siri's mother. Though they asked, for Harry didn't keep Siri a secret anymore, he wouldn't budge. He would not have Ginny's memory tarnished in that way. 'Uncle' Ron and 'Aunt' Hermione never questioned their titles, primarily because they knew they'd be Siri's aunt and uncle, whoever the mother might have been.

Harry and Siri lived peacefully. Death Eaters were still at large, but they weren't causing problems. Little did Godric's Hollow know, that at that very moment, for the next three years, the Death Eaters were quiet because of internal conflict, and a plan to bring their lord back to life.

* * *

A/N: Ginny kept her pregnancy a secret through spells and potions when she was in public. Harry took care of Siri while Ginny had classes, and Harry never _taught_ a class, Kingsley was just teaching him a variety of techniques of dueling, and Dumbledore taught Harry the incantation to banish Voldemort to the underworld. Yeah that wouldn't fit anywhere in the story.

Review… PLEASE!!!

Nice people review after they've read a story… 


	2. Things Won't Ever Be Fine

**Title: **_Neither Can Live While the Other Survives_

**Chapter:** Things Won't Ever Be Fine

**Rating: **PG-13 for premarital relations, death, and overall destruction

**Genre: **Action/Adventure/Drama

**Main Character: **Harry

**Summary: **A lot of things have happened to Harry since he graduated from Hogwarts. A mistake he made turned into be a blessing. Life is torn away from key players, and Voldemort is banished. But with the Death Eaters still at large, who can say that the world is still safe?

* * *

**It seems like every day's the same,  
And I'm left to discover on my own,  
It seems like everything is gray,  
And there's no color to behold,  
They say it's over and I'm fine again, yeah,  
Try to stay sober feels like I'm dying here,**

_VOLDEMORT DEAD; BOY-WHO-LIVED TO LIVE FAIRLY NORMAL LIFE_

_Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, vanquished the Dark Lord! The world everywhere is rejoicing as young Harry goes to live the life he earned. With son, Sirius, Harry Potter has moved into his parents' old home of Godric's Hollow. Can Mr. Potter afford to be fulltime Mr. Mom? Our resources say yes. "Potter's always had money," says old friend Draco Malfoy in all honesty, "He never passes up a chance to spend it, though." So, why is Harry Potter spending so much time doting on his only son? "From the articles I've read," says Cho Chang, "He seems very lonely. Who can blame him? He loved the mother of Siri so much, and now she's gone." What actually happened to Sirius Potter's Mum? Reports have come in, some women claiming to be the young boy's mother, some declare they know exactly who she was, and that she's dead. Draco Malfoy says, "Look at the young boy's uncle and aunt. That'll tell you who the real wea— mother is." Whatever this means, the Daily Prophet won't hazard a guess. Maybe Harry Potter's old girlfriend Hermione Granger will help take care of the lad. After all, it isn't healthy for a child to be raised with only one parent.  
_

_Well, Harry Potter, you've done your job. Congratulations on saving the world. Everything's fine now, and it seems you finally get to live the good life. My hat's off to you. This is Rita Skeeter reporting for the Daily Prophet._

**And I am aware now of how,  
Everything's gonna be fine one day,  
Too late, I'm in hell I am prepared now,  
Seems everyone's gonna be fine,  
One day too late, just as well,**

I sigh as I think about the days ahead of me. I barely notice myself aging, but I can certainly tell little Siri's getting bigger. My heart swells with pride every time he does something extraordinary. Based on the book of children I bought some time ago, Siri is already a remarkably bright boy. He and I learn about life together; how the simple things are to be treasured, and even vomit isn't so disgusting after you've cleaned it off yourself several times. Everyone is saying that I'm living a lackluster life, full of relaxation. Don't know where they get that from. Every time I read that in the paper I think of how I'd like them to take care of Siri for a few days, see how 'lackluster' their life will be then with a hyperactive child like him. I usually laugh a little to myself when I think this. I love Siri. He means the world to me.

There are still days when memories drown me. Their delightful sounds of Christmas or birthdays, their shrill screams of battles lost, and yes, even the one time where in a single night, for the first time in our lives, we created something special. When that happens, instead of feeling happy, it feels as though I'm chained to misery. Why did those memories have to stop? Why couldn't I just stay at Hogwarts?

_I feel the dream in me expire,  
And there's no one left to blame it on,  
I hear you label me a liar,  
'Cause I can't seem to get this through,  
You say it's over, I can sigh again, yeah,  
Why try to stay sober when I'm dying here,_

Life might be 'fine' for those who barely noticed the war, but my heart is scarred. Good and evil aren't that huge to me anymore. It's sad when I think of it. Letters come to me every day. Most of them are from the Ministry, offering a baby-sitter for Siri, if only I'd go in and fulfill my old ambition of becoming an Auror. I tell them _no_ every time. They don't listen. The Ministry never listens to me, and that's been going on since my third year. Though I have Siri, I feel myself expiring away to nothing. Maybe I should go visit Ron, Hermione, and the rest of their bunch. My mood might lighten when I see Siri playing with little Ginny and the rest. I feel tears threaten my eyes. _Ginny._ I could have learned to love her. I could have discovered what made her happy. We could have made it work! Voldemort had different plans. Why couldn't I keep her? Siri needs a mum. This world isn't fair. Why would it let us create life, and then take away one half of what created it?

**And I am aware now of how,  
Everything's gonna be fine one day,  
Too late, I'm in hell,  
I am prepared now,  
Seems everyone's gonna be fine,  
One day too late; just as well,**

And I'm not scared now,  
I must assure you,  
You're never gonna get away,  
And I'm not scared now,  
And I'm not scared now,  
No…

Ron and Hermione's house was just what I needed. Though I'm far from happy, a positive outlook has been reinstated. As soon as Siri's old enough to go to Hogwarts, I'll continue with my training, and become an Auror. I will hunt down every single last Death Eater until they are all behind bars. Of course, certain ones might be a bit more battered than others, but who am I to control that? It will all be in self-defense, after all.

**I am aware now of how,  
Everything's gonna be fine one day,  
Too late, I'm in hell,  
I am prepared now,  
Seems everyone's gonna be fine,  
One day too late, just as well,**

I am prepared now,  
Seems everything's gonna be fine for me,  
For me; for myself,  
For me, for me, for myself,  
For me, for me, for myself.

I will go on, and I will continue to take care of my son, who, by the way, just turned two. I'm going to plan a birthday party. Life is satisfying. Not fine, not normal, just satisfying. Life will never be fine for Harry and Siri Potter. Too much has happened.


End file.
